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WORKING WITH
FOLDERS
by
Sharon Bond
Folders give you a
clear and simple way to arrange the files you create in Windows. In the My
Computer window, the Find program, the Explorer, the Start menu---an on the
desktop itself-----folders help you systematically organize your work and
efficiently locate files. You will quickly become familiar with the small
yellow icon that represents a folder.
Folders
were known as directories in previous versions of Windows and DOS. Given the
large amount of storage space available on disks, folders provide an important
structure of your files. You can create folders on any hard disk or floppy
disk, or directly on the desktop. You can also create folders inside other
folders. The many programs and documents stored on a hard disk are typically
stored in hierarchy of folders within folders.
Once you have created a folder for a specific
purpose, you use applications such as WordPad or Paint to save new document
files in the folder. Alternatively, you can copy or move existing files into a
folder.
How to Use the My Computer Icon:
 The
My Computer icon, at the upper-left corner of your
desktop, is designed to give you easy access to files stored on your hard disk
or any floppy disk. Files on a disk can include documents you have created, or
programs you want to run. Files are
organized in folders. With a few clicks of your mouse, you quickly can open any
folder on a selected disk and examine the files that the folder contains.
Furthermore, you can open a file and begin running the corresponding program by
double-clicking an icon within a folder.
1. Double–click
the
My Computer icon
on the desktop. The resulting My Computer window contains icons representing your hard disk, floppy disk drives, and CD-ROM drive if one is installed on your
computer.
2. Inside
the My Computer window,
double-click the icon for the drive you want to investigate. In response,
Windows displays a collection of icons representing the folders and files stored
on the selected disk.
3. To
view the files stored within a selected folder, double-click the folder icon.
A folder may contain files alone, or a combination of files and other folders.
4. To
open a file, double-click its icon. If you select an icon representing a
document file, Windows first runs the program in which the document was
originally created and then opens the document inside the program. If you
5. To
close the My Computer window (or any related windows that have been opened as
you examined the contents of your disks), pull down the window’s File menu and
choose Close, or simply click the close button located at the upper-right corner
of a given window. The My Computer icon remains on your desktop.
Tip Corner:
 You can change the way files are displayed in the My Computer
window. To do so, pull down the View menu and choose one of the options in the
second panel of the menu list. By default, files are depicted as large icons,
but you can switch to small icons, a list, or a detailed table of file
information.
Windows provides two other important programs
you can use to explore the files on a disk: The
Find/Search
 program and the
Windows Explorer. 
You can use the
My Computer window to create
shortcut icons directly on the desktop for the programs and documents you use
most often. Once you have created a shortcut, you can simply double-click it to
start a program or open a document.
HOW TO CREATE A FOLDER:
You can use the My Computer
window or the Windows Explorer
to create a new folder on your hard disk or on a floppy disk. In either
case, you begin by selecting the location for the new folder—at the top of a
disk’s folder hierarchy, or inside an existing folder. For convenient
access to everyday files, you can even place folders directly on the desktop.
Similarly, you can add a new program folders to the Start Menu folder to expand
the options presented in the Start menu itself.
Try this:
To
create a new folder on the desktop, click the right mouse button at any empty
position on the desktop. Choose New and then Folder from the resulting
shortcut menu. A folder appears on the desktop.
Immediately
type the name you want to assign to this new folder, and
press Enter.
You can now
double-click
this new
folder icon to open the folder window.
Alternatively,
you can use the Explorer to create a new folder.
Right-click on the Start Button and select
Explore.
In
the left-hand panel of the Explorer window, click the disk or folder in which
you want to create a new folder. Then move the mouse pointer inside the
right-hand panel, and click the right (or secondary) mouse button to view the
shortcut menu for this window. Choose New and then Folder from the menu.
A new folder appears in the panel. Type the name you want to assign to the
folder and press Enter.
TIP:
Note
that there are always two techniques available for adding a new folder to an
open folder window.
1. You
can pull down the File menu and choose
New.
2. You can click inside the window with the right
mouse button and choose New and then Folder from the resulting shortcut menu.
To delete a folder, click the folder icon with the right mouse button and choose
Delete from the resulting shortcut menu. On the Confirm Folder Delete from
the resulting shortcut menu. On the Confirm Folder Delete dialog box,
click Yes if you are sure you want to delete both the folder and its contents.
HOW TO ADD ITEMS TO A FOLDER:
The
applications
in which you create document files—such as WordPad, Excel, or Paint—all
provide a
Save As
command in the
File
menu. When you choose this command to store
your current work to disk, your first task is to decide where you want to save
the file---that is, what folder to open for the save operation. For this
purpose, the
Save As
dialog box gives you a clear way to select a
folder from any disk. But you can also
move (or
copy) existing files to a new folder, as a
way or reorganizing the work you have already stored on a disk.
1.
In any application designed
for creating document, pull down the
File menu and choose
Save As to store
your current work on disk for the first time.
2. In the
Save As type dialog box, double-click the icon for the folder in which you want
to save your work. Windows copies the name of the folder to the Save in box.
To complete the save operation, enter a file name and click the Save button.
3.
To move a file from one
folder to another, use the My Computer tool to open windows for both the source
folder and the destination folder, and then drag the target file from one folder
to another.
4. To copy a file from one open
folder window to another, hold down the Ctrl key while you drag the file from
its source to its destination.
5.
To select multiple files for
a move operation, open the source folder and hold down the Ctrl key while you
click each target file in turn. Then drag the files all at once to the
destination folder. (To copy the files, hold down the Ctrl key while you
drag.)
TIPS:
You can also conveniently use the Windows
Explorer to move or copy files from one folder to another.
When files are displayed as icons in a folder window, you can
select multiple files by dragging the mouse in a rectangular selection area
around the target files.
When you drag a file from one folder to another, the
destination folder does not necessarily have to be open as a window.
You can simply drag the target file (or files) onto the
folder icon.
HOW TO DESIGNATE STARTUP APPLICATIONS
ADDING PROGRAMS
TO YOUR START MENU:
Startup
is a special folder that allows you to define automatic applications---programs
that will be started at the beginning of every Windows session. You can place
shortcut icons in the Startup folder for the applications you use every day. By
doing so, you save yourself the trouble of having to start these applications
yourself when you begin your work.
1.
Programs can easily be added or removed from the Start menu.
2. If you remove a
program from the Start menu, it does not physically remove the program files
from disk, it only deletes the program as an item in the
Start menu.
TIP:
There is a limit of 14 items
in the Start Menu. However, these 14 items include
folders which in turn may contain programs, documents or other folders.
Also remember
that you may place objects directly on the Desktop rather than in the Start
menu.
IMPORTANT:
As this folder contains files that may be dangerous to manipulate, you will see
a warning dialog when you access the Windows
folder.
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